Since its inception in the spring of 2022, the Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE) major has grown to become a popular new major among UR students.
First offered at the University of Oxford in 1920, the PPE major made its way through Europe, and eventually to universities in the United States. The major sheds light on the intersection between the practicality of political science in the real world, and the normative applications of political theory.
This intersection fosters the creativity and practical thinking needed for students to address the important political and social issues in the world.
Students majoring in PPE at UR are required to take a total of 15 courses, which include courses from each of the three disciplines of the degree: Philosophy, Political Science, and Economics. Students also receive an education in statistics and a thematic concentration of their choice to receive the interdisciplinary instruction that the degree promises.
These thematic concentrations can range from regionally-specific options like ‘Diplomacy in a Changing Europe’ or ‘Gender and Education in Latin America’ to broader topics, like ‘Political Psychology in a Divided State,’ which add to the interdisciplinary nature of the degree.
According to Dr. Rosa Terlazzo, co-Director of the program and Associate Professor of Philosophy, “Students have a huge amount of freedom in their thematic concentrations, because we [the coordinators] wanted the major to serve students who have their own vision.”
Dr. Terlazzo and Dr. James Johnson are the two directors and coordinators of the PPE major. Terlazzo handles the humanities components while Johnson handles the social sciences. Both work closely with the PPE students and aim to fulfill their students’ ambitions.
As Terlazzo said, “While the two of us work together closely and make all significant program decisions together, we want to ensure that the major is truly interdisciplinary, and that students with different interests have experts they can work closely with.”
Senior Michael Hazard is part of the inaugural PPE class at the University graduating this spring. He was introduced to this major from a PPE seminar he took his sophomore year. The theoretical aspect of PPE is what attracted Hazard to this major. Unlike the strictly quantitative nature of Political Science, PPE focuses more on “ethical problems with the political world,” according to Hazard, and how we approach them.
The thematic concentration Hazard chose was ‘Social and Political Philosophy,’ focusing more on solving real world problems rather than on political theory. His interest in it kickstarted when working with Johnson on independent research focusing on pragmatist methodology, which is the idea that “a phrase or a sentence […] comes down to the practical consequences it invokes.”
Reflecting on his experience, Hazard recalled the research being difficult but fun. He enjoyed having the space to talk about these dense theories. “It was super helpful for me moving forward,” he said.
To promote the major, UNC and Duke host the UNC-Duke National Undergraduate PPE Colloquium, which is an annual two-day conference where top students studying PPE come together to discuss real-world applications of PPE theory in modern politics.
Hazard had the opportunity to attend this conference in early February. He joined students from across the nation including Ohio State, UC San Diego, UPenn, and more.
“The best part of it was really getting to know other people who are interested in the thing I was interested in,” Hazard recalled. “This started because there is value in people talking about issues together from a bunch of different places with a bunch of different ideas.”
The conference was divided into five sessions, with readings for each session sent a few weeks prior to the conference. The overarching theme of the discussions was democratic backsliding. According to Hazard, backsliding is the “regression from democracy” to a non-democratic state, like authoritarianism.
For Hazard, his education as a PPE major made him feel prepared for the Colloquium. In particular, the degree’s inherent flexibility meant he was able to engage in independent studies and research that aided him during the conference.
Hazard is also working with Dr. Terlazzo on his thesis about the methodology of political philosophy. In it, Hazard calls for a shift in political theory, moving away from the traditional focus on defining the ideal world to “how to get to that perfect ideal society” through working on real problems prevalent in the world.
The 2024-25 school year is the third year PPE has been offered, and since then, the major has gone from one graduating student to 50 students in the department. “The success of the major,” Terlazzo said, “is really due to our student body — we have a lot of students who are ambitious, optimistic, and hungry for the tools to solve the problems they find most urgent.”
